Posts Tagged ‘“Jonathan Maberry”’
What Makes YA Fiction so Hot? A Virtual Panel Discussion on Jonathan Maberry’s Big Scary Blog
October 10, 2011 | 
Author 
Young adult (YA) literature is hot. Red hot. Smoking hot. It’s where the real publishing industry buzz lives. It’s a growing market despite a crumbling economy; and in a technological age it’s driven by actual word of mouth. Well, to be fair, it’s word of ‘text’, but it’s close.
I asked librarians from across the U.S. to talk about the genre and why YA is the place to be for readers and writers.
JONATHAN MABERRY: YA literature is getting more and more of the social media buzz. Why?
SHANNA SWIGERT SMITH: Two words, it is AWESOME and AMAZING! Plus, people are looking for something to entertain and provide enjoyment. Rarely, do I have to wade or push through reading a teen book. They immediately grab your attention and do not let go till the very end. The marketing of this through social media is a no brainer. Young adults are not going to the New York Times Book Reviews. Instead, they are going to Google it and look for an online presence. (Shanna Swigert Smith, Teen Librarian, Mesa County Libraries; Grand Junction, CO)
ROBIN BRENNER: YA literature is a booming market right now because it’s appealing to teenagers, of course, but it’s also appealing to a wide range of readers. In terms of social media: many of YA lit’s creators and readers are in that sweet spot of tech users (teens up through 40 year olds) who are more likely than anyone else to be out there tweeting, blogging, and tumblr-ing about their latest read. (Robin Brenner, Reference & Teen Librarian, Brookline Public Library; Brookline, MA)
RACHEL KITZMANN: Because it’s awesome, and that answer is only a little facetious. YA literature is attracting talent and bravado at incredible rates. The idea of teens as a force with disposable income came right on the heels of authors taking an actual stab at writing interesting, compelling books with teen protagonists. Instead of “Issue Books” or books that were written by committee, authors as a force started addressing multiple teen-age experiences. Doing this allowed teens to see their lives mirrored for the first time: the experiences they were reading about were the experiences they’d had, or their friends had had. As teens started reading more and more (despite the moaning and groaning of various news outlets about “teens not reading”) authors got bolder and bolder.
Teens like realistic fiction, but what if I add vampires? Zombies? Aliens? What if instead of setting it in the contemporary world, the book is set in WWI, and there are genetically engineered animals? What if the book is written in verse? What if the book has two, three a dozen points of view? YA authors took risks that adult authors were unwilling to take, because the market of teens respected and responded to that risk taking. Then the adults started respecting and responding to books that were aimed at people 5, 10 even 20 years younger, because the literature was good. It was interesting and it was different than anything else on the market. At the end of the day, that’s why YA literature gets a lot of buzz: Because it is as good (and in my opinion, better) than comparable books in the adult market, and a great story is a great story no matter the age of the protagonist. (Rachel Kitzmann, Young Adult Librarian, Los Angeles Public Library, CA)
LIZZ ZITRON: YA literature takes on challenging issues more than any other genre and yet it struggles to gain respect as an intelligent, thoughtful medium. I think of it as the soap opera of literature. Soaps have long tackled tough issues long before their television counterparts. Positive, homosexual characters in loving relationships come to mind. Soaps had them long before nighttime TV. I see far more positive portrayals of LGBT characters in YA lit then I do in adult novels. Authors like David Levithan, John Green, Alex Sanchez and Maureen Johnson are a few writers who come to mind who have created characters and situations that ring with authenticity. Johnson in particular has avoided what we call the Lesbian Trope in which lesbian characters go crazy, die or both.
Additionally, YA literature is increasingly better-written in my opinion. Somehow authors are able to perform feats of word artistry I don’t see in many adult novels. The Morris award nominees from 2011 come to mind as examples of vastly different genres and storylines that were all incredibly well-written. They tackled fairly specific universes, characters and situations yet each author managed to make his or her work accessible, real and engaging. These books continue to “stick with me” in ways adult books I’ve read this year have not. When you think about the audiences YA authors have to reach, they must write really well to reach them successfully. They are dealing with a population at wildly differing levels of intellectual, emotional and self-identity development. So they must be deceptively simple yet write deeply. (Lizz Zitron, Outreach Services Librarian, Carthage College- Hedberg Library; Kenosha, WI)
KIM CHRISTOFFERSON: There is so much good YA fiction being written. Forget the paranormal/vampire books. Try The Monstrumologist by Rick Yancey or Rot & Ruin by Jonathan Maberry. These books will give you the willies. If you want romance, pick up a Sarah Dessen book or Dash and Lily’s Book of Dares by Rachel Cohn and David Levithan. Dystopian stories like The Hunger Games trilogy or Chaos Walking series by Patrick Ness are also good reads.
Hollywood picks up these stories and turns them into movies whether they be based on the book or a bit different but with the same story. I don’t think publishers really recognized the enormity of the teen audience until the end of the 1990′s when Harry Potter became a hit. Granted, the first couple of HP books are middle school books but so many kids in the 90′s were so excited to read it and wanted to read all of them. By the time HP finished his 7th year, the kids who started reading him were grown but still faithful fans! Then there are the Twilight series and The Hunger Games series. Just a few examples of great YA fiction. These books may not win a Printz award but they make the rounds at libraries across the world! (Kim Christofferson, Teen Librarian, Garden Grove Regional Library, CA)
JESSICA MILLER: I think this question has to be explained in several ways. First, YA lit itself is becoming much more popular. With adults realizing, yes they can read these books, the audience has grown. With many new YA books being made into movies, awareness of the books themselves has grown. With more and more people talking about the books, it has exploded onto the social media sites. Now that is a self feeding cycle. With buzz already building on the internet, more and more people are joining book related sites, creating book blogs, and in general adding to the buzz. As more and more people emerge online with these interests, the publishers are glomming onto this fact and are thus creating more buzz online…and such the cycle goes. Basically the books are awesome, people realize they are awesome and talk about them, the publishers see people talking and show them more things to talk about…online! (Jessica Miller, Young Adult Librarian, New Britain Public Library; New Britain, CT)
TONYA OSWALT: The intriguing stories and the high quality of the writing in young adult fiction appeal to people of all ages. It’s interesting to me that a lot of teenagers will skip over young adult fiction and go straight to adult fiction, while many adults will linger in the young adult section, devouring the books there for years. There has also been an increase in the number of movies being made based on young adult books, perhaps thanks to the popularity of the Harry Potter and Twilight franchises. Then there is the ongoing debate over the ‘darkness’ of young adult fiction that has recently resurfaced in the media just a few months ago. Censorship has and always will be an issue in libraries and schools, regardless of the actual material that is being published, because it is impossible for everyone to be happy. (Tonya Oswalt, Young Adult Services Assistant, Bossier Parish Libraries, Bossier City, LA)
JONATHAN MABERRY: What are your favorite YA genres/subgenres…and why?
SHANNA SWIGERT SMITH: Currently, I am in love with teen lit that re-imagines history with fantasy and/or the science fiction element. I have always loved historical fiction, which, to be honest, is already an author’s own imagining of history. I like the authors who have taken it a step farther, intertwining magic, machines and time travel.
ROBIN BRENNER: As I said above, I love the books that veer into all sorts of genre groupings. I just want a good story and solid writing. If I had to define what I want in a YA book: witty banter, strong dialog, well-balanced world-building (whatever that world may be), and spot on pacing.
RACHEL KITZMANN: I started out as a fantasy/sci-fi reader and that’s still what I fall back to. If there are witches and fairies, chances are I’ve read the book, all the sequels, and have deep and thorough thoughts about the world and how it operates. The physics of space and time is something that most people have at least a basic understanding of: time moves forwards, gravity is what holds the earth together and that is how it’s supposed to be, then BAM- Magic! What are you going do when Newton’s laws of motion become mere suggestions? A good fantasy/sci-fi author takes the time to consider the impact of that on the world as a whole and on the protagonist in particular. It’s a fun way to really explore the human experience.
LIZZ ZITRON: I am new to the fantasy realm and I blame it all on Neil Gaiman and YA lit, but not necessarily in that order. High fantasy has always eluded me, perhaps because I’m a somewhat literal person and having to imagine new universes confuses me! But I was always fascinated by the whole culture which just looks like a whole heck of a lot of fun. I’m more of a geek groupie than actual geek. As fantasy has become more popular in YA lit and adapted to teen tastes and needs, it’s hooked a lot of adults in the process. And not just because of sexy vampires either. (I long for the day when we can talk about fantasy w/out mentioning vampires or zombies!)
I read Holly Black’s “Tithe” and was smitten. I love when authors play with established genre, subverting it to their will in order to add something fresh to the conversation. YA authors seems to be doing that well with fantasy. Cynthia Leitich Smith for example, is offering a funny, fresh look at vampires and werewolves with “Tantalize,” “Eternal” and “Blessed.” I’m reading “The Replacement” by Brenna Yovanoff right now and it’s a great example of twisting and turning fantasy elements to appeal to a wider audience while staying true to the genre.
What’s awesome is that YA fantasy lit has led me to comic books. I was a typical young girl who avoided comics and now wish someone had set me straight by putting one in my hands when I was a teen. I think I would be a much cooler person now if that had happened.
KIM CHRISTOFFERSON: I love dystopian books. I started reading the dystopian genre with “The Giver” by Lois Lowry and it had me hooked. There are lots of dystopian YA fiction and they circulate very well at our library. I think the reason they are popular is teens want to be seen as the hero. In most of these books, the teens are definitely the hero. And not a superhero but a normal kid who does extraordinary things in extraordinary circumstances. From Katniss in The Hunger Games series to Todd in Chaos Walking series to Sam in the Gone series. They keep the reader’s attention, they bring out a touch of survivalist in the teen, and they are oftentimes funny.
JESSICA MILLER: My favorite genres have always been fantasy and science fiction. I have not always been the bravest person in real life, but when you read fantasy or science fiction, you get to experience whole new worlds, travel to exotic places, and have outstanding and magical adventures…without even leaving your reading chair! Now, there are many more recognized sub-genres within fantasy and science fiction. Some of my favorites are dystopia (I have a strange fascination with imagining how I would deal with a corrupt and dangerous world), zombie books (…also fascinated with figuring out how to survive the zombie apocalypse), and steampunk ( I LOVE the combination of Victorian sensibilities and awesome gadgetry!).
TONYA OSWALT: I am most often drawn to fantasy and supernatural or paranormal fiction, and these are probably my favorites. I like both high fantasy and the sword and sorcery type. I also enjoy supernatural or paranormal books that include magic, vampires, werewolves, witches, etc., but I haven’t read every young adult vampire series there is. There are a lot of them out there, and after a while, they all started to seem the same to me. In general though, those are my favorite genres. I also really like the young adult dystopia and steampunk trends, and I enjoy horror and some historical fiction in YA fiction.
JONATHAN MABERRY: Recommend a few books that you feel are outstanding.
SHANNA SWIGERT SMITH: My recent favorites are Starcrossed by Elizabeth Bunce, Girl of Fire and Thorns by Rae Carson, You Against Me by Jenny Downham, Blood Red Road by Moira Young, and Daughter of Smoke and Bone by Laini Taylor
ROBIN BRENNER: My absolutely favorite books of the past few years are Patrick Ness’s Chaos Walking trilogy: The Knife of Never Letting Go, The Ask and the Answer, and Monsters of Men. I have rarely read a trilogy so carefully written and clearly planned that nonetheless leaves readers on tenterhooks throughout three books of rapidly unwinding plot. A lot of attention has gone toward The Hunger Games trilogy for tackling tough questions, but Ness addresses many of the same themes — war, loyalty, occupation, politics, terrorism vs. freedom fighting — and reveals it to be messy, life-altering, and so much more full of shades of grey than Collins’s series touched on. In my absolute favorite touch: most tales that include war end with a final wrenching confrontation. Monsters of Men, the third book, gets through that conflict in the first third of the book. The rest of the story? It’s all about the incredibly difficult and intense process that follows every war: reconstruction and reconciliation. So few trilogies really dig deep into the after effects of a conflict they’ve set in motion in any series, let alone a series of teen books.
RACHEL KITZMANN: The book I read in January and have spent the last few months throwing at people is Beauty Queens by Libba Bray. It starts as an almost silly premise (what happens when a plane full of beauty queens crash lands on a deserted island?) and spins it into this amazing manifesto on being female in the 21st Century. Just…such a good, interesting, funny and heartbreaking book.
I’d also recommend The Education of Robert Nifkin by Daniel Pinkwater, one of my absolute favorite books, hands down. It centers on Robert Nifkin, and the absurdity that is his high school, his family and his life, but it’s funny and relatable, even if the situations are extreme. Admittedly, I lived in Chicago for about six years, and enjoy reading about streets that I know, or places I used to hang out, so that was a bonus for me as well. Hilariously, neither of these books are fantasy, which is the genre I read the most in.
LIZZ ZITRON: Again all of the Morris Award nominees. There’s something for everyone in this list: Hush” by Eishes Chayil, published by Walker Publishing Company, a division of Bloomsbury Publishing, Inc. “Guardian of the Dead” by Karen Healey, published by Little, Brown and Company/Hachette Book Group “Hold Me Closer, Necromancer” by Lish McBride, published by Henry Holt “Crossing the Tracks” by Barbara Stuber, published by Margaret McElderry Books, an imprint of Simon & Schuster Children’s Publishing Division “The Freak Observer” by Blythe Woolston, published by Carolrhoda Lab, an imprint of Carolrhoda Books, a division of Lerner Publishing Group
KIM CHRISTOFFERSON: The whole Chaos Walking series by Patrick Ness, An Abundance of Katherine’s by John Green, The Book Thief by Marcus Zusak, The Wish List by Eoin Colfer, Tamar by Mal Peet, The Maze Runner trilogy by James Dashner
JESSICA MILLER: Three of the best books I have read recently are Divergent by Veronica Roth (girl defies expectations and exposes a coup d’état), Okay For Now by Gary D. Schmidt (boy overcomes abusive family situation to find the good in himself), and Beauty Queens by Libba Bray (beauty contestants on desert island figure out how to rescue themselves – HILARIOUS!).
TONYA OSWALT: I know there are still some people who haven’t read the Hunger Games series by Suzanne Collins, so I have to start by recommending that. It’s definitely getting more attention now since the movie is coming out in March, but the books are well worth a read before the movies hit the theater. A fellow librarian recommended the series to me, and I have since continued to pass the recommendation along to all of my colleagues. In The Hunger Games, twenty-four teenagers are forced to fight for their lives in an arena each year while the rest of the country watches, as punishment for the last rebellion against the capital. As Katniss, the main character, fights for her survival, she becomes a symbol of hope for the rest of the country. Wintergirls by Laurie Halse Anderson and If I Stay by Gayle Forman are two books that don’t fit my normal go-to genres that I have to recommend. These books are powerful and haunting in a way that stays with you long after you’ve finished reading them. In Wintergirls, Lia is fighting anorexia as she struggles to be thinner and thinner. In If I Stay, a car accident leaves Mia in a coma, her brother injured, and her parents dead. Mia is aware of this, despite the coma, and that she has a choice of whether to stay and live, or go and join her parents. Even at the risk of sounding like I’m catering to the host, I also have to recommend Rot & Ruin by Jonathan Maberry. I’m not usually one to go looking for zombie books, but I was told that this was an excellent book and that it wasn’t really about the zombies. I was pleased to find out that I agreed, and I usually recommend it to others as a book about relationships between family and friends that just happens to have zombies in it.
JONATHAN MABERRY: Discuss a favorite book that flew under the public radar.
SHANNA SWIGERT SMITH: I received an advanced copy of Forbidden by Tabitha Suzuma earlier this year. I wasn’t exactly thrilled to be reading a book that dealt with the taboo subject of incest, but I literally could not put it down. Honestly, if it does hit the radar it may be the next banned book, but I would definitely recommend it as an amazing read.
RACHEL KITZMANN: I actually have a series that was discontinued: The Alfred Kropp series by Rick Yancey. Alfred Kropp is the last descendent of the Knight Lancelot. He discovers this fact after his only living relative dies. After that, Alfred is thrust into a world of high tech gadgets, magic and secret organizations. It’s fast-paced, has tons of action and a really likable hero in Alfred. The series is only three books, and though the end of the third book can be read as the finale in the series, Yancey asked enough new questions that I was really excited to see where he was going to take it, and then BOOM! Cancelled.
KIM CHRISTOFFERSON: Tamar by Mal Peet was an excellent book that I think should have been on reading lists. It has romance, mystery, suspense, war, everything a reader may want, plus it is a book that I didn’t want to put down until I finished. Unfortunately, the only readers who knew about this incredible book were those in my book club and those who took the chance to pick it up from a display I created, and regardless of how much booktalking I did about it. The book is a dense one and teens are reluctant to pick up something they can’t get through in a short time.
JESSICA MILLER: I have two books that I read and really enjoyed that I think most people do not know about. The first, Dark Life by Kat Falls is a middle grade science fiction adventure. Set in the future, humans now life under the ocean and children are starting to display special skills developed from inhabiting their new environment. It’s like a western movie set under the ocean. The characters are strong and the novelty of an underwater setting makes for all different types of interesting dangers! Secondly, I would strongly recommend your own book, Rot and Ruin. What I really love about the crop of new zombie books is the focus not solely on survival from zombie hordes, but dealing with the day to day life and emotional fallout that occurs after the initial crisis. Rot and Ruin is a fantastic example of this type of book. The characters learn a lot about humanity from seeing how the people around them deal with both the zombies and the other survivors. I can’t wait to finally read the next book in the series, Dust and Decay.
TONYA OSWALT: The first book that comes to mind that I absolutely love and that apparently hasn’t gotten as big of a reception as the publishers would have liked is The Monstrumologist by Rick Yancey. This book, the first in the Monstrumologist series, was one of the best horror books in young adult fiction in some time. The writing style is captivating, as are the characters, and I was hooked from the start! Another book that I love that hasn’t gotten a lot of attention in my library is Leviathan by Scott Westerfeld. Leviathan is the first in a series that creates a steampunk version of World War I, where the Central Powers, or the Clankers, are known for their machines, and the Allies, called the Darwinists, use fabricated creatures such as whale airships and message lizards. The story alternates between Deryn, a girl pretending to be a boy so that she can serve as an airman for the Darwinists, and Alek, the son of the Archduke of Austria-Hungary. One last book that I want to mention is Finnikin of the Rock by Melina Marchetta, a fantasy novel that I almost didn’t discover myself. Though the book starts slow, once it picks up, the characters captivate you and sweep you into the moving story of the people of Lumatere as they try to find their way back home and locate their kingdom’s missing heir.
JONATHAN MABERRY: What’s next for YA lit?
SHANNA SWIGERT SMITH: I definitely know that teen lit is not getting less intense or dark in the near future!
ROBIN BRENNER: I have no idea, and that’s a lovely thing! I would just say more of it…more of it all!
RACHEL KITZMANN: YA lit is going through some growing pains-it’s still somewhat looked down on as an audience even as every author in the history of ever is writing for it, trying to cash in. A glut is coming, a YA saturation point, which needs to happen before the market can level. The authors that care about YA, about the teens that they’re trying to reach with their stories will remain, and those looking turn a quick dollar will leave. I think the future of YA will be less about trends (“Quick, we need unicorns! I SAID UNICORNS, NOT PEGASI!”) and more about authors. The media is having a hard time acknowledging the vastness of YA literature. The focus tends to be on the “hotness” of vampires/zombies/fairies/mythology books. That, I think, will change. The focus will be on the book. And that day will be oh so welcome.
LIZZ ZITRON: Probably Cthulhu romance. I think the LGBT market will continue to explode, evolve and develop until we no longer notice it as a subgenre, but as an established element of YA literature. At least, that is my hope and I see that happening in the books coming out. The graphic novel will grow in popularity, but I think the format will change in that we won’t see shiny paperback books, but rather books that look like most novels in terms of the packaging. Look for the revolutions in the Middle East to start seeping into YA Literature. I’m so excited about “Zahra’s Paradise” from First Second books to come out September 13. It’s a book version of a popular, anonymous web comic about the 2009 elections in Iran and what happened to those who dared to protest them. It represents what I love about YA lit: it provides a space in which we can view other lives and come to find they are not so different from our own.
KIM CHRISTOFFERSON: I think YA lit is getting bolder in terms of discussing “adult” topics. Sex, obviously, is a topic in books teens will seek out. But authors of YA lit will be under the gun in terms of fighting to express in their writing sexual situations. Death, violence, terrorism, and love are hard to get through tastefully in books and I believe YA authors have done just that and are working more for that type of fiction.
Based on what I’ve heard more and more people asking for through social media and what books I’m seeing gain immense popularity, I think there are a couple of trends that might be coming up soon. 1. The reemergence of straight up science fiction – though this genre has always been strong in adult literature, it is only now starting to really pick up in YA. Books like Beth Revis’ Across the Universe and Glow by Amy Kathleen Ryan that are getting a strong media push will definitely help this trend gain momentum. 2. The development of a college aged subgenre in realistic fiction. Many, many YA readers bemoan the fact that YA lit seems to stop with characters graduating from high school. A few books here and there, sometimes shelved in YA, sometimes shelved in the adult area deal with college students. As we’ve already determined that children and teens read up age-wise, why are we not including books with college age characters geared towards our high school readers? 3. Contemporary (but not issue driven) fiction – Think authors like Jennifer Echols and Stephanie Perkins. With the overload of dystopian fiction in recent months, I think a lot of teen readers are pulling back and looking for a nice “normal” read. 4. Lastly, not really a new genre, but a new type of book – Multimedia!
This trend really began in middle grade fiction with series like The 39 Clues. Now with the unveiling of Pottermore and The Capital PN (linked to The Hunger Games), I think more and more upcoming titles and series will be presented with print and online formats, as well as layers of usability.
TONYA OSWALT: The vampires have had their heyday, but they don’t seem to be going away anytime soon. Zombies have been on the rise for a while, as have angels. The new thing this year seems to be mermaids, but I’m not sure that mermaids are going to take hold quite the way some other character types have. The dystopian fiction continues to keep coming, and I’m sure that it’s going to stick around for a little while. I think in the future we may see more interactive YA fiction. There are already books like The Amanda Project series that let readers go online to create their own characters and add to the story. Now with e-readers, smart phones, and other devices used so frequently, and teens using media sites so heavily, I think that authors and publishers will find more ways to use these things to make books more interactive.
A Conversation with Smashwords Founder, Mark Coker
The IAMTW Scribe Award Nominees for Best Young Adult Novel
Welcome to the second in our series of virtual panel discussions here on the BIG SCARY BLOG to celebrate the nominees for The Sixth Annual Scribe Awards.
The SCRIBE AWARDS are presented by the International Association of Media Tie-in Writers (IAMTW). The Sixth Annual Scribe Awards will be given at a ceremony and panel discussion held during Comic Con International in San Diego in July 2012.
For the full list of nominees: http://www.iamtw.org/awards-2011.html
Below are the nominees in the category of BEST YOUNG ADULT novel.
BIG SCARY BLOG: Tell us about your nominated work.
AARON ROSENBERG: Absolutely! Alpha and Omega: The Junior Novel is about a wolf pack in the Canada’s Jasper Park. The pack is divided into two groups, the Alphas and the Omegas–the Alphas are the hunters and leaders, while the Omegas are the moderators and healers and laborers. Kate is a true Alpha, the pack leader’s daughter, fierce and strong. Humphrey is a classic Omega, carefree and playful and charming. They’ve known each other since they were young cubs, and have always liked each other, but Alphas and Omegas don’t mix. But when the two of them are captured and shipped to Twin Falls, Idaho, they have to work together to make their way back home. Along the way they begin to realize that maybe they aren’t so different after all.
NATHAN MEYER: My book, ALDWYNS ACADEMY is a YA fantasy setting in the world of Dungeons & Dragons. For the story I really wanted to co-opt a suspense-thriller format into a traditional high fantasy. The story revolves around the first day at a Wizarding Academy for a trouble young boy named Dorian. The central theme guiding the pace of the novel is a simple one ‘magic is dangerous’ and Dorian finds this out the hard way.
JOAN MARIE VERBA: THUNDERBIRDS: SITUATION CRITICAL! is a novel set in the Thunderbirds universe of Gerry and Sylvia Anderson. This is the fourth book in the series; the focus character is John Tracy, an astronomer. As the book begins, he discovers a single gas giant/brown dwarf which passed by the solar system in recent years. The gravitation dislodged meteors and comets, sending them toward Earth. In the bulk of the novel, John and the International Rescue team deal with threat these objects pose to the Earth and Moon.
BIG SCARY BLOG: What drew you to writing media tie-in books?
AARON ROSENBERG: Well, I started with Star Trek, where it was a matter of “I love this setting, and now I get to tell stories about some of the characters I’ve seen on TV and in movies, and even create some characters of my own to travel alongside them? Cool!” That’s the fun of media tie-in work, that you get to play in worlds and with characters you already know and love. With novelizations it’s also that you get to show a bit more behind the scenes. You can reveal what the characters were thinking and feeling, and show scenes that tie everything together but weren’t in the original due to time or budget or some other issue.
NATHAN MEYER: I had written several published short stories when I learned about an opportunity to do ghost writing for an action/adventure series. I jumped at the chance as it seemed a much less “iffy” proposition for a new author than the sometime convoluted traditional publishing route. Once I had a few such novels under my belt I was simply in that “mode” and found I liked the challenge of going into preconceived worlds with established fan bases and then seeing if I could be innovative and live up to reader expectations. To be honest, the up-front advances didn’t exactly discourage me either.
JOAN MARIE VERBA: Whenever I enjoy watching a franchise, I always believe there are more stories to tell.
BIG SCARY BLOG: Talk about your process for creating a media tie-in book.
AARON ROSENBERG: The first thing I do, of course, is go back to the source. I rewatch the TV shows or the movies, reread the existing books, etc. to make sure I remember everything and know the world and characters I’m using. With novelizations that means going back over the script carefully until I know the dialogue by heart. Then I start mapping things out. With novelizations it’s all about filling in the gaps, making the existing scenes flow into each other to create as seamless story. With original tie-in stories–new stories using existing characters and settings–I just think about who these people are and where they are and what they’re doing and come up with ideas for stories that make sense for them. Either way I outline strenuously–I like to have a very clear map of where I’m going when I sit down and start writing.
NATHAN MEYER: The first part of the process is to become as intimately familiar with the tie-in world and characters as possible. I read or watch everything I can get my hands on and really work to immerse myself in the world. Once I feel like I know the property forwards and backwards I then move to creating a story using pretty much the same process any other kind of author would.
JOAN MARIE VERBA: First, I study the property: the existing stories, the characters, the settings. Then I consider the consequences of actions already established, or consider what the characters might do given a certain challenge.
BIG SCARY BLOG: How much creative freedom does this genre allow for authors?
AARON ROSENBERG: Tie-ins, you mean? A fair bit, actually. It varies from license to license, of course, but a lot of licensors know they have to sit back a bit and trust the writers to come up with something good. They get to check it all, of course, and offer comments and point out flaws or deviations, but the process works best if the licensor makes a few suggestions up front and then lets the writer play so that it isn’t too forced. If they’ve chosen well they have a writer who knows and loves the source material and understands how it works and how it sounds, which means whatever that writer comes up with should still be perfectly in line with that material.
NATHAN MEYER: This can vary greatly. On some projects the goal posts are very narrow. With novelizations of movies for example you’re pretty locked into narrating what happened in the film. You always have to be authentic to reader expectations when working with an established property of course or you fail–even if the book you wrote is a great story, if it doesn’t ‘feel’ like the world or the characters the fan base is looking for then it doesn’t work.
Having said all that, however, there is quite frequently plenty of room for a writer to flex his imagination. Tie-in novels about video or role-playing games or novels using established characters in non-canonical stories can leave the writer a very big palate to create from. With Aldwyns Academy I used the Wizarding School from Wizards of the Coast’s A Practical Guide to Magic, to include the faculty–but the main protagonists are my own creations and my story was created whole cloth simply using a known setting for a background. It is not uncommon at all to have this kind of writing freedom in a media tie-in book, which makes it fun.
JOAN MARIE VERBA: There’s a great deal of latitude allowed, as long as I respect the characters and the humanitarian principles behind the established universe, which I entirely agree with. Nonetheless, the only major changes I make deal with adding 21st century features to International Rescue: they have devices with Internet connections, for instance.
BIG SCARY BLOG: Why makes a really good media tie-in book?
AARON ROSENBERG: The first thing is being true to the source material. That’s crucial. You can tell the best story in the world, but if you’re writing a Eureka novel and the story is really a Star Trek story–both properties I’ve written for–it’s not going to work, and the Eureka fans who read the book aren’t going to be happy about it. You have to understand what makes that world and its characters tick, what makes them fun and distinct, and use that to its fullest. Second is telling a great story–you can know the characters backward and forward but if the story isn’t any good it won’t matter.
NATHAN MEYER: First it has to be authentic to the property. If you’re writing a novel about Batman, for instance, you can’t decide you think the Dark Knight would 
be more interesting if he cracked jokes like the Joker or wanted to use a gun. You always have to be respectful of fan expectations. After that what makes for a really good media tie-in book is the same that makes for a really good book, especially one that happens to share the same genre as the tie-in you are reading, that is; a compelling story told with a strong pace and a clear voice as seen through the experiences of well drawn characters.
JOAN MARIE VERBA: Consistency with the established universe. That’s what the fans of the series look for. Even though fan opinions and interpretations vary, and it’s impossible to please everyone, generally if an author makes the characters and situations feel authentic, the readers will find the story satisfying. Moreover, if the author can provide sufficient detail, readers not familiar with the universe will enjoy the novel as well, expanding the audience.
BIOS
AARON ROSENBERG doesn’t limit himself to one media or genre. He’s written original fiction (including the space-opera The Birth of the Dread Remora and its companion novella “Crossing Paths,” the upcoming occult thriller novel Indefinite Renewal and the upcoming science fiction comedy novel No Small Bills, and the new O.C.L.T. novella “Brought to Light”), tie-in novels (including the PsiPhi winner Collective Hindsight for Star Trek: SCE, the Daemon Gates trilogy for Warhammer, Tides of Darkness and the Scribe-nominated Beyond the Dark Portal for WarCraft, Hunt and Run for Stargate: Atlantis, and Substitution Method and Road Less Traveled for Eureka), young adult novels (including the Scribe-winning Bandslam: The Novel and books for iCarly and Ben10), children’s books (including an original series, Pete and Penny’s Pizza Puzzles, and work for PowerPuff Girls and Transformers Animated), roleplaying games (including original games like Asylum and Spookshow, the Origins Award-winning Gamemastering Secrets, and sections of The Supernatural Roleplaying Game, Warhammer Fantasy Roleplay, and The Deryni Roleplaying Game), short stories, webcomics, essays, and educational books. He has ranged from mystery to speculative fiction to drama to comedy, always with the same intent—to tell a good story. You can visit him online at gryphonrose.com or follow him on Twitter @gryphonrose.
NATHAN MEYER is the author of over twenty novels and lives in Oregon with his wife and four children. He has been working as tie-in author for over a decade most frequently under pseudonyms and Aldwyns Academy is his first novel published under his own name. A member of the International Association of Media Tie-In Writers for several years, Aldwyns Academy is a finalist in this year’s Scribe Awards for Best YA Novel.
JOAN MARIE VERBA: earned a bachelor of physics degree from the University of Minnesota Institute of Technology and attended the graduate school of astronomy at Indiana University, where she was an associate instructor of astronomy for one year. She has worked as a computer programmer, editor, publisher, health/weight loss coach, and social media manager. An experienced writer, she is the author of the nonfiction books Voyager: Exploring the Outer Planets, Boldly Writing, and Weight Loss Success, as well as the novels Countdown to Action, Action Alert, Deadly Danger, and Situation: Critical, plus numerous short stories and articles. She is a member of the Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers of America, the Society of Children’s Book Writers and Illustrators, and the International Association of Media Tie-in Writers. Find out more here: http://www.sff.net/people/joan.marie.verba/
What do these TV Shows have in common? CSI, BURN NOTICE, MIKE HAMMER, MURDER SHE WROTE, PSYCH, SAVING GRACE – they’re books too.
We’re launching the first in a series of virtual panel discussions here on the BIG SCARY BLOG to celebrate the nominees for The Sixth Annual Scribe Awards.
The SCRIBE AWARDS are presented by the International Association of Media Tie-in Writers (IAMTW). The Sixth Annual Scribe Awards will be given at a ceremony and panel discussion held during Comic Con International in San Diego in July 2012.
For the full list of nominees: http://www.iamtw.org/awards-2011.html
First up we have the nominees in the category of GENERAL ORIGINAL novel.
CSI: SHOCK TREATMENT by Greg Cox
BURN NOTICE: The Giveaway by Tod Goldberg
MIKE HAMMER: THE BIG BANG by Max Allan Collins and Mickey Spillane
MURDER SHE WROTE: The Queen’s Jewels by Donald Bain
PSYCH: The Call of the Mild by William Rabkin
SAVING GRACE: TOUGH LOVE by Nancy Holder
*** William Rabkin was not able to join us for this panel.
BIG SCARY BLOG: Tell us about your nominated work.
GREG COX: CSI: SHOCK TREATMENT is my second CSI novel, and the first to feature Ray Langston instead of Gil Grissom. The main plot concerns an “accidental” shooting on the set of a reality show, which, of course, proves to be anything but. I think this book is a bit more blackly comic than my previous CSI novel, Head Hunter, which won a Scribe a couple years ago.
TOD GOLDBERG: THE GIVEAWAY was my 3rd Burn Notice book, which either means I finally figured out what I was doing, or the fine judges determined that I wasn’t going to get any better and that they should recognize me for just getting slightly more readable. In terms of plot, it goes something like this: someone comes to Michael Westen with a problem and then, 300 pages later, he solves it. Some stuff blows up. Some jokes are told. Some drinks are had. In the end, I think America feels better about itself.
MAX ALLAN COLLINS: THE BIG BANG is the second Mike Hammer novel I’ve written based upon unpublished material from Mickey Spillane’s files. Shortly before his death, Mickey asked me to complete his then-in-progress Hammer novel, THE GOLIATH BONE, and just a few days before he passed, he told his wife Jane to give me all of his unfinished, unpublished stuff, saying, “Give everything to Max. He’ll know what to do with it.” No greater honor could be paid me. In addition to THE GOLIATH BONE, there were/are five other unfinished Hammer novels, usually consisting of 100 double-spaced pages and plot/character notes. THE BIG BANG was a story Mickey particularly liked, and he’d told me about it in detail, including the fairly outrageous ending.
DONALD BAIN: The Queen’s Jewels is set on a trans-Atlantic crossing on the Queen Mary 2. Back in 1997 I wrote Murder on the QE2, which proved to be a fan favorite. It was the biggest selling novel in the “Murder, She Wrote” series for many years, and I decided to put Jessica back on the high seas in 2010. Aside from affording my wife, Renée and me an extremely pleasant week of research on that magnificent ship (she now collaborates with me on the series), setting one of Jessica’s adventures aboard a luxury ocean liner creates a perfect milieu for murder and character interaction.
I used the shipboard setting to reintroduce two favorite characters from the TV series, Dennis Stanton, a reformed jewel thief who is now a private investigator, and Michael Haggerty, a not-quite retired British intelligence agent. They’re on the ship for different purposes but their presence complicates what is already a complex murder mystery involving the theft of a priceless gem. I also introduced a character, a retired tanker captain, Harry Flynn, a handsome gentleman in his early 80s, who charms Jessica with his tales of having sailed the world. He generated an outpouring of e-mails from readers who fell in love with him. The book’s ending is quite different from previous novels in the series, which also prompted readers to weigh in. Fortunately, they responded favorably to it.
NANCY HOLDER: SAVING GRACE: TOUGH LOVE takes place in the “universe” of the TV show, SAVING GRACE, created by Nancy Miller and starring Holly Hunter. Grace in an Oklahoma City police detective bound for hell until an intervention by Earl, a tobacco-chawing angel. In TOUGH LOVE, Grace is trying to do some saving of her own–a young kid “adopted” by the detectives has returned to gang life, and is targeted for death by a white supremacist organization–and so is Grace’s best friend, Rhetta Rodriguez, whom they kidnap.
BIG SCARY BLOG: What drew you to writing media tie-in books?
GREG COX: My not-so-guilty secret is that I would be watching these shows and movies, and reading the comics, even if it wasn’t my job. I grew up on sci-fi movies and comic books and such, and I still get a thrill out actually getting to write some of my favorite characters and series.
TOD GOLDBERG: Burn Notice. I love the show and the show’s creator, Matt Nix, is a great guy that I’ve had the pleasure of knowing for a long time, too. I’d been approached in the past about doing tie-ins and always demurred, but when the opportunity arose for the Burn Notice series, it was too good of an opportunity to pass up. I’ve enjoyed writing the books – I’ve written five of them, the last of which comes out in July – and though I’m not going to continue doing the books, I have a feeling that I’ll always have a deep affinity for Michael Westen.
MAX ALLAN COLLINS: I’m both a film buff and a filmmaker, so it’s a good fit. As a pop culture junkie, it’s been a pleasure writing about such characters as Bret Maverick, Mulder and Scully and of course Mike Hammer. I was not in particular a fan of CSI, but those were fun books to do and very successful. I’ve been privileged to develop novels for some excellent films, notably SAVING PRIVATE RYAN, AIR FORCE ONE, IN THE LINE OF FIRE and AMERICAN GANGSTER.
DONALD BAIN: When I wrote Gin & Daggers 22 years ago, the first of the 37 books in the series (a new 3-book contract will bring the total up to 40 “Murder, She Wrote” novels) I never thought of it as being a tie-in book. I know now, of course, that the novels fall into that publishing category, but I simply considered it an opportunity to write a good murder mystery featuring a beloved character, Jessica Fletcher. I admit to a certain annoyance at books being categorized; a novel is either good or it isn’t. Duke Ellington felt the same way about the tendency to categorize music. Because tie-in books usually feature characters not invented by the authors, there’s a precious tendency among certain readers, as well as some in the publishing industry, to consider them less “legitimate,” less worthy. That of course is nonsense, but true nonetheless. To me the “Murder, She Wrote” novels are as mainstream as any murder mystery series, and I’ve sensed a welcome shift on the part of readers to accept the validity of this.
To more directly answer your question, I was drawn to write the series because my agent, Ted Chichak, then VP of the Scott Meredith Agency, had been approached by Universal to come up with a writer for books tied in to the TV series. I’d been ghosting mystery/thriller novels for a well-known person and was asked to take on the MSW series. I never imagined that I’d be still writing it 22 years later. Sometimes you get lucky.
NANCY HOLDER: My first tie-in was for HIGHLANDER. I found the Highlander books while I was working part-time at Mysterious Galaxy bookstore. I loved the idea of writing in the Highlander universe, and said as much at work. My boss (and friend) Maryelizabeth Hart, emailed the editor of the line and told her I was interested. The editor called me at work and I watched three seasons of HIGHLANDER in one week. I loved it. I sent the editor thirteen pitches, and I got the gig. With that credit, plus my romance and horror credentials, I got my first BUFFY gig. I wrote BUFFY, ANGEL, SMALLVILLE, SABRINA THE TEENAGE WITCH, HELLBOY, and WISHBONE tie-ins. I wrote for BUFFY for over a decade, and I loved every moment. It was a dream come true. After that, I wrote nonfiction about “my” shows, but I wasn’t sure if I’d be writing tie-in fiction again. Then SAVING GRACE came on the air, and I was offered a two-book deal. I fell completely in love with the show, just as deeply as I was (and still am) in love with BUFFY.
BIG SCARY BLOG: Talk about your process for creating a media tie-in book.
GREG COX: I tend to go the full immersion route. When I’m writing a Star Trek book, for instance, I’ll start watching the old episodes again, put the soundtrack albums on the CD player when I’m writing, read up on the show on-line, and generally eat, breathe, and sleep Trek until the book is done. Ditto for CSI, DC Comics, Buffy, Warehouse 13, or whatever.
TOD GOLDBERG: It’s hard to talk about process – I mean, I sit down, I type, and then, seventy-five thousand words later, I have a book – but in the case of a show like Burn Notice it’s important for me to really be cognizant of what the fans want. I’ve said this before, but it’s apt: what I try to do with the books is essentially akin to a singer performing a cover song. I want to make it recognizable to the folks who like the original while also providing a new twist here and there.
MAX ALLAN COLLINS: That varies depending on the property. For original novels, it’s a matter of immersing yourself in the show, watching episodes and taking notes and researching the appropriate background material — on CSI and CRIMINAL MINDS, the latter is a big part of it. My researcher and co-plotter Matt Clemens handles almost all of the forensics material on that kind of project. Matt and I took the CSI/CRIMINAL MINDS approach into two thrillers for Kensington, YOU CAN’T STOP ME and the recent NO ONE WILL HEAR YOU. YOU CAN’T STOP ME has been nominated for best paperback by the Thriller writers.
DONALD BAIN: The process really isn’t different from creating any novel, with a few exceptions. Universal (now Comcast-Universal) has a considerable investment in the “Murder, She Wrote” and Jessica Fletcher brands, and I have an obligation to honor that. Naturally, I’ve immersed myself in the Jessica Fletcher character and other characters from the TV show, and am careful to not do anything that might tarnish those characters in the minds of the show’s devoted fans. That obligation aside, Universal and the publisher, Obsdidian, have always been extremely supportive of the way that I’ve approached the books and the stories I’ve elected to tell as long as I don’t stray too far from the nature of the characters, and the tone of the show itself.
NANCY HOLDER: If I can get the scripts, I read and reread them until I get the structure and cadence of the show. I watch all the episodes as many times as possible, both with and without sound. You can find a lot of nuance by concentrating on the visuals (which is also a counterpoint to reading the scripts.) I read all the interviews and articles about the show that I can find. I buy the soundtracks and listen to them while I try to think of an adventure to take the characters on. I send my ideas to my idea, who sends them on to the network or production company. If I get comments or notes, I incorporate those in another draft of the outline if I’m asked to. Sometimes I just get the go-ahead to start working. The star of the show is my main point of view character. I try to use at least a couple of the other characters’ points of view in subplot(s.) In the case of TOUGH LOVE, I used a lot of Grace’s best friend, Rhetta.
BIG SCARY BLOG: How much creative freedom does this genre allow for authors?
GREG COX: Depends on the franchise to some degree. And, obviously, you have more freedom with an original novel based on a show than a strict novelization, where you’re just adapting somebody else’s script into prose. The trick is to find room to have fun while not coloring outside the lines of whatever franchise you’re working in.
TOD GOLDBERG: I think, generally, very little. But in my case, Matt said from the get go to do what I wanted to do, which was a tremendous gift to me and showed me that he trusted my vision, which is all a writer ever wants to hear. I think whenever a writer is given firm margins, they begin to feel artistically confined, and that shows up in the work. No writer wants to work from a point of constriction, particularly not this one.
MAX ALLAN COLLINS: That varies widely. The best case scenario on a movie tie-in is to be allowed the freedom to add “missing scenes” and backstory, and really explore the interior life of the characters. TV show novels require hewing to the format of the show. Early on, CSI was a breeze. The more popular it got, the more hands-on the CSI folks were on the novels. And that’s never really fun, but understandable.
DONALD BAIN: I suppose my answer to the previous question answers this to some extent. I’ve always felt that any good author can be creative within an external structure imposed by another interested party, in this case Comcast-Universal. Obviously being handed a wonderful character like Jessica Fletcher, shaped and nurtured by the superb Angela Lansbury and the show’s writers and directors, is somewhat restricting. On the other hand I’m not sure that I’d ever have been able to create that character out of my imagination, and I’m thankful that the folks at Comcast-Universal have enough faith to entrust its valuable character to me. While there are certain restrictions to what I can have Jessica Fletcher do, I never feel restricted or hindered in the approach I take with the stories and the way they’re shaped.
NANCY HOLDER: Writing tie-ins gives authors tons of freedom. Just as with TV series episodes, you can write different kinds of stories starring well-drawn characters in their distinctive worlds–a caper, a mystery, a sweeping epic, a comedy. Fans of the show love the variety.
BIG SCARY BLOG: Why makes a really good media tie-in book?
GREG COX: I think it helps if you’re enthusiastic about the show or comics themselves. I’ve been lucky in that I’ve seldom had to write for a series that didn’t engage me personally. And you need to do your homework and really get to know the characters and their voices. My impression, from talking to fans and readers, is that nothing knocks them out of a tie-in faster than thinking “Grissom wouldn’t say that!”
TOD GOLDBERG: I think it has to provide a bit more depth than you might find in a script. I don’t mean to say that scripts lack depth, but rather that fiction allows so much more in the form of interior narrative – what people would normally call, you know, thinking – that allows for people who are fans of a particular show to get insight into how the characters they know so well process information. It’s one of those things that I believe makes these books such perennial reads: people are interested in the interior lives of the people in that strange glowing box in their homes and the books allow one more level of access.
MAX ALLAN COLLINS: Two answers. With a movie tie-in, it needs to seem like it’s the book the movie was based on. A genuine, solid, rewarding read. With a TV tie-in, where the story is original, it should feel like an exceptional, big-budget episode, with the added enhancement of receiving the story from the inside of the characters — again, exploring the interior life of characters who, on TV, are strictly presented in an exterior way.
DONALD BAIN: The answer to that applies to any novel. It’s either good or it’s not. Sure, it’s incumbent upon me to stay true to the media source upon which the novels are based. Fans of the TV show expect a certain consistency and I always try to honor that. I write with the philosophy that whatever I’m writing at the moment is the most important thing I’ll ever write, and maybe the last, whether my name is on the book or not, or whether the book is based upon someone else’s creative inspiration as is the case with tie-in books. And, of course, the primary indication whether a tie-in book is good or not is how readers and fans respond to it. If they don’t like a tie-in series it will be short-lived in the marketplace.
As a proud member of IAMTW I’d filled with admiration for the men and women who write media tie-in books and do it so well. It isn’t a field in which anyone can wait for a burst of inspiration to strike. Tie-in writers work under the gun, have to face tough deadlines, and must deal with a variety of individuals and business entities with a vested interest in the finished product. But media tie-in books are an important part of the publishing industry (if it can be called an industry), and my hat’s off to those writers who make it work.
NANCY HOLDER: Adhering to the show. I try to write “more of” rather than “more than.” I’m a scribe for the show, not the show creator. It’s my job to serve the vision of the show creator(s) as best I can, not to take it over. I don’t re-envision; I try to recapture. I only write for shows I love, and I try to impart that love in my work.
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BIOS
GREG COX is the New York Times bestselling author of numerous books and short stories. He has written the official movie novelizations of Daredevil, Ghost Rider, Death Defying Acts, and the first three Underworld movies. He has also written books and stories based on such popular series as Alias, Batman, Buffy, CSI, Farscape, Fantastic Four, The 4400, The Green Hornet, Iron Man, The Phantom, Roswell, Spider-Man, Star Trek, Xena, X-Men, and Zorro. He has received two previous Scribe Awards. His official website is: gregcox-author.com.
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TOD GOLDBERG is the author of nine books of fiction, including the novels Living Dead Girl, a finalist for the Los Angeles Times Book Prize, Fake Liar Cheat and the popular Burn Notice series, and two collections of short stories, Simplify and Other Resort Cities. He lives in La Quinta, CA where he directs the Low Residency MFA program in Creative Writing and Writing for the Performing Arts at the University of California, Riverside. Find out more here: http://todgoldberg.typepad.com/the_books/about-tod-goldberg.html
MAX ALLAN COLLINS wrote the New York Times-bestselling graphic novel, ROAD TO PERDITION, basis of the Academy Award-winning Tom Hanks/Sam Mendes film. His Nathan Heller historical detective series (most recently BYE BYE, BABY) has been honored by the Private Eye Writers of America with two Shamus best novel awards, thirteen more nominations and their lifetime achievement award, the Eye. He is a leading writer of movie and TV tie-ins, with SAVING PRIVATE RYAN and AMERICAN GANGSTER reaching the New York Times bestseller list, and a number of his CSI novels making the USA Today bestseller list. Collins is a screenwriter and independent filmmaker, with his indie film MOMMY becoming a Lifetime Movie of the Week, his screenplay THE EXPERT an HBO World Premiere, and his recent screenplay, THE LAST LULLABY, became a film festival favorite. He is developing novels and short stories from unfinished material in the files of legendary mystery writer, Mickey Spillane, including an original audio novel, THE NEW ADVENTURES OF MIKE HAMMER: THE LITTLE DEATH, which recently won the Audie for Best Original Work. He lives in Iowa with his wife Barbara, with whom he writes the award-winning comic cozy “Trash ‘n’ Treasures” series, mostly recently ANTIQUES KNOCK-OFF. Find out more here: http://www.maxallancollins.com/blog/
DONALD BAIN is the author/ghostwriter of over 100 books, including the best-selling “Murder, She Wrote” series of 37 murder mysteries, and “Coffee, Tea or Me?” which sold more 5-million copies worldwide. His autobiography, Murder HE Wrote: A Successful Writer’s Life, was published in 2006 (Purdue University Press). A Purdue graduate, he was named one of the university’s Distinguished Alumni in 2003. A member of the International Association of Media Tie-In Writers, and recipient of its 2007 Grand Master Award, he’s also a member of Mystery Writers of America, the National Academy of Television Arts & Science, and the Authors Guild. Find out more here: http://www.donaldbain.com/
NANCY HOLDER is a New York Times bestselling-, multiple Bram Stoker Award-wining author of over eighty books and two hundred short stories, essays, and articles. She received a special sales award from amazon.com for THE ANGEL CHRONICLES, volume 2. Her most recent novel, CRUSADE, is a young adult dark fantasy novel written with her longtime coauthor, Debbie Viguié. She continues to work in the Whedonverses, with an essay in WHEDONISTAS: A CELEBRATION OF THE WORLDS OF JOSS WHEDON BY THE WOMEN WHO LOVE THEM. She will be talking about the Matter of Whedon at Dragon Con in September. She lives in San Diego with her daughter, Belle, their three cats, their two corgis, and a partridge in a pear tree. Find out more here: http://nancyholder.com/
wins The Black Glove's 1st Annual Horrorhead Award for
Best Zombie Novel!
My interview on the Middle Chamber Book Podcast:
